Sheikh Mohammed oversaw the development of numerous projects in Dubai including the creation of the Palm Islands and the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel. He is also promoting the construction of Burj Khalifa, which is now the tallest free-standing structure in the world, world's tallest building; its official opening was on Monday, 4th January 2010. During his tenure as Crown Prince he set up Dubai Holding, a holding company with multi-diversified businesses and investments. He currently owns 99.67% of the company.[9]

After roughly a decade of de facto rulership,[10] he became the Ruler of Dubai on January 4, 2006 upon the death of his elder brother Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was also nominated by the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to be the next Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE on January 5, 2006. The members of the UAE Federal National Council accepted the President's nomination shortly after.

Charity

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been known for his vast charitabledonations. On May 19, 2007, he announced plans to give $10bn USD to set up the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an educational foundation in the Middle East, one of the largest charitable donations in history.[11] Sheikh Mohammed stated that the money is meant to bridge the knowledge gap between the Arab region and the developed world, improving the standard of education and research in the region, developing leadership programs for youth, and stimulating job creation. The announcement was made at the 2007 World Economic Forum in Jordan. His total net worth at present, however, is said to be only $16bn.

Dubai Cares

In September 2007, he launched the Dubai Cares campaign to raise money to educate 1 million children in poor countries. The campaign is Dubai's contribution to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals for providing Children's Primary Education to every child by 2015. The amount donated to this campaign has exceeded AED 3.4 billion (Approximately US$ 910 million).

Noor Dubai

In September 3, 2008, Sheikh Mohammad also launched a new Ramadan initiative under the name "Noor Dubai", aiming to help the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in achieving its goals outlined in VISION 2020: the Right to Sight Noor Dubai will treat and provide health services to one million people suffering from treatable blindness and visual impairment in developing countries on a local, regional, and international scale.

Net worth

Controversies

On 9 March 2007, the London-based Metro newspaper wrongly published a picture of Sheikh Mohammed, attributing it to the terror suspect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. The Metro has since apologized for the error.[13]

Sheikh Mohammed has been accused of encouraging the abduction and enslavement of thousands of boys for use as jockeys in camel races. A class-action suit has been filed in the United States regarding this matter.[14][15][16][17] However, in 2006, the UAE raised a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that not only are none of the involved parties residing in the U.S., but also due to it potentially jeopardizing the extensive efforts the UAE government has made in partnership with UNICEF to combat this problem. Since 2005, the joint effort has ensured repatriation of hundreds of children formerly employed as camel jockeys and provided them with social services, education, health care and compensation upon return to their home countries. The UAE government devoted $2.7 million in initial funding in 2005 with an additional $9 million for the second phase which provides compensation and claims facilities in Pakistan, Sudan, Mauritania, and Bangladesh. To enforce compliance, a law was passed banning the practice with penalties of jail time and a $27,200 fine.[18] UNICEF praised the UAE’s efforts and publicly expressing their hopes that “the UAE’s programme will serve as a model to other countries in the region, as a means of ending all forms of exploitation of children”.[19]

In July 2007, the suit was dismissed by judge Cecilia Altonaga stating the case did not belong in US courts.

From Wikiquote

Mohammed bin
Rashid al-Maktoum(Arabic (محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم)
(honorifically referred to as Sheikh Mohammed)
(born 1949-07-22) is the Prime Minister and Vice
President of the United Arab Emirates and is the ruler of
Dubai.

Sourced

There is a wide knowledge gap between us and the developed
world in the West and in Asia. Our only choice is to bridge this
gap as quickly as possible, because our age is defined by
knowledge.